Idiots in Love
by potato.chan.xx
Summary: An idiotic drama ensues when two grown adults chose to hide their feelings in fear of rejection. One hell of a cliché I-am-afraid-to-lose-you-in-my-life-so-I-kept-my-feelings-a-secret love story featuring our favorite Kaientai duo in AU setting. - Chapter 4 already up!
1. Chapter 1

**Idiots in Love**

 **by**

 **potato_chanxx**

 **CHAPTER 1**

"Kick that idiot in the balls for me."

The silver-haired man can only sigh at the eye-brow raising request from the razor-sharptongued woman as she watched his retreating form head to the Kabuki District. He was supposed to meet his long-time friend, Sakamoto Tatsuma, just outside the office building after work only to be informed by said woman that he had skipped out on his work an hour prior. For the nth time, the air head might have headed out drinking on his own and had completely forgotten their previous agreement. Scratching the back of his own naturally permed head, Sakata Gintoki sighed once more dragging his boots clad feet over to the red-light district.

* * *

"Good evening, sir. May I interest you with the finest girls of Snack Smile for your company tonight?"

"Ahh. My friend's already inside. Said he's already booked a couple of hot babes with him. That guy with an annoying laugh. You know – perm-head, sunglasses…ring any bell?"

"Oh, yes! Sakamoto-san! This way then."

Sakata Gintoki was lead inside, greeted by a full house which he attributed to the end of work week. Obviously, all these men wanted was to relax and forget about the daily grind by drinking their hearts out with a couple of chicks that would listen to all their whining. It's a quite a folly men fall into, including old him (He's engaged now, and would seriously think twice about visiting a hostess club. Wouldn't want his manhood pulverized now, won't he?) and the moron currently laughing his heart out in front of him.

"Ahahahaha! Ahahahaha! Let me ask you again, Oryou-chan. Will you marry me?", His over enthusiastic friend proposed to the obviously uncomfortable hostess beside him who promptly turned him down with a 'No, thank you' even with the elegant ring inside a velvety box he had in hand.

Hauling Sakamoto's ass back was starting to get annoying, especially since he had been on this act for almost a month already. Sakamoto would "forget" that they would have to meet at the Kaientai, only for the other to find him in one of their frequented spots in Kabuki district drowning his heart out in liquor.

But today, the fool chose to be at Snack Smile, the last place Gintoki would like to visit; he undoubtedly is not in the mood to fool around. Hastily, the silver perm-head grabbed the head of equally permed, brown hair and started dragging the bumbling idiot through tables of curious and shocked patrons towards the exit. (But not before tossing a wad of bills from Sakamoto's wallet to the table)

"Ow-ow-ow! What the hell are you doing?!" screamed the obviously disoriented Sakamoto. His pleas have been ignored and instead was thrown face-first into the pavement outside the club. Those sunglasses that covered his eyes most of the time(even during night time, like, what the fuck?!) have fallen off from the act, but it did not dwell so much on one's thought when the collar of the brunette's shirt was impetuously grabbed to focus on his friend's seething mug.

"Goddammit! I've had had enough of this hauling your drunk ass back home. Something's up. Now, spill!" Gintoki was fuming. His hands never loosened its grip on the other man's collar as he shook it violently to wake the man up from his stupor. "Aren't you gonna say something? You've been at it for weeks! What? Now, of all times, you choose to shut your stupid mouth up huh, asshole?" There was still no response from him who now chose to hang his head low and continued acting like the floor was far more interesting than the man in front of him. Showing no sign of hearing his provocation, the silver perm-head removed his hands and walked away, shaking his head. Why did he even bother with someone who does not even want to be saved? But just when he was about to turn his back and walk away, the shaggy brunette lifted his head and dejectedly uttered, "Let's talk somewhere else."

* * *

Sake filled their cups as they drank in silence in a quaint, little bar a couple of blocks away from the Kaientai office building.

Even though Sakamoto's bottle is almost empty, he still has not spoken up. On the other hand, Gintoki has been pacing himself considering that he'll have to take his companion home afterwards. Oh, they will still get real smashed tonight alright. On his last drop of sake, the brunette cleared his throat and started with a slightly slurred, "Ummmm…how do I start this?" A hand reached for the jacket pocket to take out the same velvety box earlier in the hostess club. "This is actually for Mutsu."

The silver-haired man could only look at Sakamoto Tatsuma with those dead fish eyes of his, albeit with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. After all, this was all expectedly unexpected.

* * *

Dragging an inebriated man home is the worst thing there is. No, scratch that. Dragging a man who's out cold from drunkenness is far worst. After hurling all the contents of his stomach at the previous block, Sakamoto lost consciousness, leaving his friend to drag him for another two blocks to his office. The silver perm did not hesitate to ring the doorbell after spotting faint light coming from inside the office.

Mutsu opened up and thoughtlessly moved away from the door frame after witnessing their sorry state; Sakamoto, her boss, limply hanging on Gintoki's right shoulder, subsequently drooling saliva and is that vomit? Meanwhile, the latter looked worse for wear from probably supporting another human from Kabuki district to the office granting he's also had a few drinks.

Her boss was unceremoniously plopped face first into the office sofa in the middle of the room while she closed the door behind her. His companion could use a refreshment she thought and made a beeline to the pantry by the far side of the room.

Her exit had been used by the silver perm head as an opportunity to slip out of the office quietly which literally left Mutsu with a glass in her hand and Tatsuma figuratively on the other. She still has to deal with the perm-head lying on the couch. Speaking of which, said person is currently rousing from his coma.

Setting the glass down on the coffee table adjacent to the sofa, she made her exit to the powder room and came out with a cold rag in her hands and a plastic bag in case somebody decides to empty the contents of his stomach again. Sighing, she sat beside the sluggish brunette now bemoaning his discomfort and proceeded to place the rug on his forehead.

Sakamoto jolted back a little, unaware of Mutsu's presence previously, but had little willpower of rejecting the comfort offered by the coldness on his forehead. Murmuring a silent thank you, he let her ministrations continue. The brunette perm head could not help but gawk at the woman taking care of him. Could not help but fancy how he could get used to this tenderness from her; him getting sick, her tending to him. Such was just wishful thinking. He can watch her all he want now; those amber brown eyes focusing intently on her work, one hand absent-mindedly tucking those light brown locks behind an ear, those rosy pink lips mouthing words he cannot comprehend, that same small feminine hand now appearing in his line of vision- "Oi, Sakamoto, you alright?" She's frowning now, brows knitted in concern.

Her words jolted him back to reality. Scratching the back of his head after realizing he had zoned out for too long, lost in thought due to the female tending to him. Shaking his head at his own blunder, the man told her to not worry. He is fine. Maybe, had a little too much to drink and he needed to retire for the night. He suggested, she too should do the same.

Mutsu hesitated for a split second but nodded in return. With that, she got up, collected her belongings, locked up and called it a night; but not before reminding him to take the medicine placed atop the coffee table, to lay down and rest, and to call her on the phone if any chance he feels worse. After all, she has her apartment on the uppermost floor of the 5-story Kaientai building right next to his boss'.

After he was sure Mutsu had already ascended to her quarters, Tatsuma laid down once more and let the sorrow wash all over. Azure orbs stared at the ceiling, wondering how in despair would he be able to sleep like a baby. Would counting ways of him being insufficient and hopeless like sheep help this poor man slumber? So that he did. Once Hypnos placed his spell to claim him, he let it win without resolve, all the while longing for his subordinate's reserved solicitude.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Hi there! Let me just tell you a little story how I wound up writing this fic. :)**

 **So, I'll start with how I would usually read fanfictions as my bedtime story. Subsequently, as a Gintama fan and SakaMutsu shipper, I search for** ff **with them as the main pairing. Ah, alas! I could only scour a couple here( ), on AO3, and on Tumblr. Okay, so maybe I am not aware of other fanfic sites(Yeah, how sad) Mentioned this lack of SakaMutsu love in my life to a friend who suggested I write one. That I did and here we are now.**

 **I would spend some of my nights typing this fic, and it probably took me about a month in doing so. It has never been beta-d so forgive me for my grammatical mistakes and redundancy(?). I just can't seem to find the courage to let an acquaintance check my work and be criticized; I would rather have you guys tell me in front of my anonymous potato face haha!**

 **Do leave a comment whether it be love and constructive criticisms, but never hate(** pls **. no. huhu)**

 **Till next time!(I hope I get the motivation to write the next chapter so help me** gawd **. lol)**


	2. Chapter 2

Happy birthday to the Diamond Princess, Mutsu! Here's a present for all you guys ~:D

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2**

Sakamoto Tatsuma would wake up every morning for the past month and swear he will never ever drink again. Or at least he would do so until the hangover's gone and reality finally sinks in all over him.

He woke up with a throbbing head akin to someone hammering inside his skull and parched mouth as dry as the Arabian Desert. Oh. That's right. He had a 'few' drinks the previous night with his silver permed buddy. Speaking of. Where the hell is Gintoki?

Quickly sitting up to survey the office and finding nobody else with him, Sakamoto slumped back to the sofa and palmed his groggy eyes. Gintoki must have gone home by himself after dropping him off at the Kaientai. Sighing, he reached for the glass of water that was set there by his subordinate the night before, downing the contents in a few gulps due to his dehydrated state.

His subordinate. The light brown haired woman tended to him last night. She was so close – he could have easily pulled her closer if he wanted to. And those sweet, succulent lips! It was basically begging him to take it. No. " _Stop imagining before it escalates again to those lewd thoughts you have of her."_ He mentally berated himself in disgust. Recalling past events only exacerbates his already pounding head; overthinking would not help in any way at all.

"I should have taken that turmeric drink before going to the cabaret bar." He groaned, forcing himself to get up and grab another glass of water from the pantry. That was an unwise decision on his part as he will have to suffer for Kami knows till when. Maybe chugging water and Pocari might help get rid of his hangover quicker. Good thing the sun's rays…were not poking through the curtain slits?

Turning to the clock hanging on the wall opposite his office desk, Tatsuma froze upon realizing he got up at a terrible and ungodly hour of five-fucking-thirty on a non-working Saturday morning. Sighing, he decided to just get on with his day inasmuch as he won't be able to have a well-deserved shut-eye anymore from a headache. Plus, that mountain load of paperwork is already nagging at him.

Fine. He'll just have to get things over with and finish the job. But not after some good ol' icy, cold shower.

* * *

Day after day, the brunette would grudgingly get up from the office couch with hair wild like bird's nest and hike up to his quarters to take a quick shower. He would then take his time descending the stairs, lazily rolling up his dress shirt's sleeves and dusting off the crease in his slacks as if that would straighten it out. His right hand would run through unruly locks to make it appear presentable at the very least. That summed up his routine this past month. It is a wonder the man is still alive albeit all the drinking he had been doing.

Then, there is the case of those dark spectacles. Day or night, it will stay perched on his nose. It doesn't matter if it sometimes obscures his vision or makes it difficult to see in low light. The shades must remain there. You bet there is something gravely wrong with the man if you ever see him without it.

Today though, there is something amiss with the perm-head because that is how Mutsu found him this morning – sans glasses, with his focus on the pile of paperwork stacked on his office table. The woman had to spare a moment to process the scene, surprised at her boss' uncharacteristic interest in administrative work. After all, it was usually the razor XO's job to carry out those tasks as the permed man finds it too "boring" for his tastes. Moreover, he is doing it in the most un-Sakamoto Tatsuma fashion possible.

Getting piss drunk would not really count as unusual on his part since the man actually does so to skip work among all things. His "bizarre" behaviour, however, should warrant concern from people around him.

First of all, the Kaientai leader is never the silent type. You could even hear his chattering before he even enters a room for crap's sake. The peaceful atmosphere courtesy of the man himself is quite unbecoming. Second, the bastard never leaves home without his shades. It is practically part of his character aside from being a loud-mouth. The female had to admit, she misses that retarded laugh of his that would use to annoy her. Last but not the least, there is no way in hell that man would voluntarily do paperwork.

Yet, on an early Saturday morning, nonetheless, Mutsu walks in on that guy committing those three sins. She could not help but gape, eyes wide, brows furrowed from disbelief and confusion. What in the world is happening? Surely, this is not a dream. Right?

No. No. She bade herself to calm down. This is him we are talking about. Him. As in, Sakamoto Tatsuma – the eccentric, though, idiotic CEO and negotiator extraordinaire of Kaientai. If he is up to something, she will most definitely find out what. But, for now, she decided to just shrug it off like all his weird behaviour this past month. Whatever made Sakamoto do these things is beyond her. She is better off not worrying over every trivial matter till work is done, isn't she?

* * *

Having been serious in their attempt, the heap of paper from each of their desks became smaller by the hour that passed. The right-hand woman, specifically, had been too engrossed in her own stack that the other had to clear his throat twice to get her attention. Startled from the closeness of the source of the sound, Mutsu looked up to find Tatsuma's royal blue orbs fixed on her. His hands held folders, stretched out to her general direction. She promptly looked up again at him from her seat, puzzled as to what he was handing her. Nonetheless, her heart wildly thumped inside her chest, raising further confusion within her. She can even feel her face heating up. What in the world?

She opened her mouth but promptly shut it once she realized what he was planning to do. He is slacking off again; probably thinking of passing his workload to her like he always does. Immediately, her expression changed from clueless to annoyed and was about to lash out on the jerk when she was completely cut off once more.

'I'm…uh…done." He started, letting out that breath he did not realize he was holding. He ran a hand through his dusky locks while fidgeting on the spot. It seemed he could not find a thing to focus his sight on, not even bothering to look the woman in the eye as he continued.

"I've signed everything, and…er…these are the ones that need the Vice President's signature so here. Ahahahaha!" he stammered, practically shoving the folders in the light haired woman's face which the latter absently accepted.

 **THE WORLD IS ENDING**. She cringed at her exaggerated thoughts, yet could not help but panic due to the President's sudden and unexpected efficiency. Him? Done with all his paperwork? The turn of events is just unbelievable, it rendered her speechless and quite disoriented. Wait a minute, was he stuttering a while back? Yes, he was. He could not even look her in the eye.

She snapped out of her trance only to learn the other occupant is nowhere to be seen. That damn slacker had already escaped. Tsk. Groaning, she turned her attention back to her work. Oh, he'll have a piece of her mind once he returns.

* * *

Mutsu seemed distracted after declaring that he, Sakamoto, has completed his own workload. However, just when he was about to attempt to call her out, his phone beeped signalling an email received.

Tatsuma unlocked his phone and opened the message coming from none other than Gintoki. He hastily clicked the message open which read:

 **Oi. You owe me. So come over my apartment this instant. Yeah, and DON'T FORGET to bring food for FOUR people. I expect you here in half an hour so hurry up, don't keep me waiting.**

He turned his sights back to check if the female is still zoned out. Finding her features morphing into that of an angry lion, he had to guess she presumed he is evading work judging her reaction.

Spending the money for a lot of food or a dealing with a wild razor XO?

Finally making his choice, the quivering mass of wavy fluff took the opportunity to escape the premises, heading off to a certain silver haired man's abode on the other side of town.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **I know. This took too long huehue :3 Do leave a comment and tell me what you think! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So…what's the plan?" Tatsuma nervously grinned at the equally permed man beside him, currently wolfing down yakisoba by the mouthful. The man, however, it seemed was not paying attention to the former after all as he continued consuming container after container of food. The brunette hated to interrupt his friend's meal, but he came on the premise that the silver perm will help him with his situation. He sat there waiting for his friend to finish his food or at least pause to tell him this supposedly big idea, but the munching just does not stop; Gintoki is obviously more fixated on his food than helping him out. Is it plausible his silver permed friend here asked him to drop by with food just to cure his hangover munchies? The thought only irritated him. In his mind, a quick debate on whether he should punch the daylights out of his freeloading buddy here or plainly walk the fuck out got his gears grinding. Upon quick delegation of the possible outcome of both choices, he decided to choose the latter. But just when he was about to give up and take his leave, said friend spoke up, pulling him out of his foul mood.

"We're going on a trip."

The knots on the disheartened man's forehead visibly straightened out and his ears perked up at the statement. He quickly retraced his steps and eagerly plopped back down beside Gintoki. The dark haired man's face looked way brighter than it was seconds ago. Although the silver perm was still engrossed in his meal, he started dictating his so-called plan amid chewing and munching noises. Gross as it sounds, Tatsuma did not mind; he was all ears.

"Beach. _**Slurp slurp chew chew**_. Next – _ **sluuuuurp chew chew -**_ weekend."

"We're heading to the beach next weekend. Got it. Then?"

"That's it."

"That's…it?"

Gintoki briefly took his attention away from the food container he was eyeing and moved to the other person's questioning gaze. He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Entrust the Yorozuya with this one. When did we fail on a customer request?" Lightly hitting his own chest with a closed fist for that dramatic believe-in-me-I-got-you-covered effect.

"Uhhh..what? Yorozuya?"

"We'll have you making sweet sweet love to Miss Razor-Tongue by next weekend." The scheming expression written all over Gintoki's face says it all. "Odd Jobs will be handling everything for the little weekend getaway." He added whilst getting up and pushing Sakamoto towards the direction of the front door; the brunette did not even get the chance to correct or defend himself and his intentions toward Mutsu. What was weirder was how his friend was acting all hyped over setting them both up. Definitely suspicious and creepy. Then, add to that the mention of the Odd Jobs. Would Gintoki be trying to mooch him for payment from this? He did say customer. Damn.

About to refute the other person's assumptions, Tatsuma spun around only to be bombarded with another ludicrous and positively bad idea. "Now. Go home and get ready. Hmm…maybe get started on romancing her so getting to Point B, which is sexy time, will be easier. Point A being uhh…whatever it may be. Yeah. Okay. Bye!" And he was faced with the apartment front door once more.

* * *

Tatsuma took his time from traveling back to Kaientai due to this new dilemma he is facing – how the hell is he going to tell Mutsu about this trip? Knowing her workaholic nature, he bets she would immediately declare the trip to be 'a waste of time'. This could possibly even warrant a lecture from said person on how she would rather have the whole weekend to review next week's agenda or something to that effect. She would possibly even let out a snide remark on how he is probably doing this to get away from work – for which she would not be entirely incorrect for saying considering the trips to the local bar or hostess club and going home piss drunk, like, most of the time.

He could think of endless scenarios of ways he could tell her about the trip, all ending in him either turned down or in physical(and even emotional) pain.

One of the scenarios played like this:

" _Mutsuuuuuu~" He would probably start, acting all happy and positive like normal Sakamoto Tatsuma would. "Let's go on a trip this weekend."_

" _A trip? We've got tons to do and all you think of is a vacation?"_

Yep. That's one way to be turned down. Would acting all meek and unsure, as opposed to his usual self, work? Next scenario:

" _Umm…Mutsu?"_ _He would say with hands behind his back like a nervous kid asking for a favor for the very first time. "Could we maybe go on a trip this weekend?" Eyes all sparkly and blinking fixed on her, pleading, for the cute effect. He could then flash her an innocent smile for and added effect._

 _Mutsu would act like she was considering it but then would turn him down with, "Stop that. Stop it with the cutesy face, it does not suit you. Besides, you look disgusting. Aren't you a bit too old for that? Wait. Are you drunk? Shape the hell up, Sakamoto."_

Another failed idea. His hands found his hair and started pulling on it. The nervousness and anxiety he feels would most definitely ruin asking her out (on a weekend getaway with him featuring the Odd Jobs). Beaded sweat started dripping from his forehead, he also found himself shaking a little. Damn it! Why would his body not cooperate when he needs it the most? The feeling is as bad as boarding a huge ship and wanting to throw up due to motion sickness. Fuck. He is even running out of ideas.

Placing both hands inside his pockets, the brunette trotted on a slow and steady pace to his destination not minding his surroundings that much. Still deep in thought over the current task, Sakamoto did not even realize he was already right in front of the office building. Snapping out of his daydream, he realized he was already face-to-face with the Vice President.

She stood there unmoving with hands on her hips, amber brown eyes fixated on his flustered form still betraying no emotion. Tatsuma opened his mouth but no sound came out; he honestly did not know what to tell her. Anything inappropriate and not well thought of might set her mood off so he stood there for a clear minute, mouth hanging open while frozen in the exact same spot. A bulb lit in his mind, he was ready with the soundest statement he could think of when he was cut-off with her speaking.

"Tell your Yorozuya friend this weekend is fine." As cryptic as the statement was, the perm head knew what she was talking about. This left him speechless, but that does not matter right now. A comeback was not really necessary as A. He is already facing her retreating back and B. She already agreed to join the mini trip "they" devised. Thank Kami. Gintoki really did the preparations and even went as far as informing Mutsu all about it. Tatsuma sweat dropped. Well, that was one off the list.

Upon turning her back to head back inside, Mutsu exhaled; she noticed that she had been holding her breath until now. It was unusual for her to feel uneasy when interacting with people especially with Sakamoto. Recent events have left her with feelings that she has yet to find explanations to. Understanding it only proved to be difficult since she has never really experienced it before. Was it anxiety? Stress? A symptom of an underlying sickness?

She shook her head. Her being sick may already be crossed off the possibilities; the last annual physical she had was only last month and results came back negative for any abnormalities. Although stress is a plausible culprit, anxiety is also a probability. It felt like her heart would burst from her chest whenever this, whatever it is, occurs. Better stop overthinking or risk getting more stressed out.

Tilting her head back to where Sakamoto stood, her amber eyes found him smiling and thinking to himself. This prompted her heart to skip a beat. Right hand over her left breast, she took deep breaths to calm herself down. Was this reaction brought upon just by observing Tatsuma? She shivered at the idea. Sakamoto to her is…Sakamoto. Her relationship with him is already strange as it is. She can't have it getting weirder. What they have now is alright. It was and it still is. Nothing more and nothing less, she told herself.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Laziness and procrastination - reason why it took me a couple of months to make an update. I'm so sorry. T_T But, hey, there will probably be more of Mutsu's POV in the next chapter. I really do appreciate your comments and the love. Thank you for reading and until the next chapter. :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The weekday had come and gone like a breeze. Friday night was almost over, but our female protagonist was still up packing for the weekend trip to the beach.

The beach, oh boy, best place ever…not. It was definitely the worst place to be especially for somebody who is highly sensitive to sunlight. Call her a vampire or freak. She would rather stay under the shade instead of leaving herself exposed and susceptible to horrible skin burns. After all, it was not her fault, it just runs in her genes.

Whatever made her agree to Sakamoto's Yorozuya buddy was beyond her. She justified it as the silver perm being an annoyingly convincing negotiator. However, Mutsu could have turned the tides and made him accept her 'no' as the final answer. Whatever happened to her negotiating prowess? It seemed the negotiator got schooled by the silver perm head's persuasiveness. Shame on her. Sakamoto would be disappointed if he ever hears about it. But when did she start caring about people's opinions, let alone that shaggy-haired boss of hers?

Mutsu sighed as her mental check list deemed everything to be in order. Paperwork? Check. Clothes and the essentials in her overnight bag? Check. Sanity still intact? Check.

After double checking that everything was in order, Mutsu placed her overnight bag by the bedroom door, then made a beeline to the futon she pulled out earlier. She promptly plopped down and buried herself between the sheets. With eyes closed, she could only hear her ragged breathing and the beating of her racing heart. She was nervous about something, she could clearly tell. This feeling she was currently experiencing could probably be chalked up to this little outing of theirs. Besides, it has been a while since she went out of town to loosen up. It is laughable how anxious she is for something that's supposed to be relaxing. You cannot blame her restlessness especially considering the fact that she would be miles away from the office with zero control over work in the office. What if somebody called over urgent matter while she was away? No. Calm down. She had given every client her business card. They would surely call her mobile number, right? RIGHT?

Overthinking would not help she told herself. Mutsu ran a hand over her light brown locks and tugged a little while trying to sooth herself from those wild thoughts. Not good. She would end up tossing and turning the whole night if she keeps this up. Maybe she should try counting sheep then. _One sheep. Two sheep. Three sheep. Four…five…six…sheep_. She was starting to feel a little sleepy now. " _Sheep have really fluffy hair just like Sakamoto"_ , she mused. _"His hair's real fluffy especially when it's humid out."_

 _AHAHAHAHA! AHA! AHAHAHAHA!_

 _Shut up, Sakamoto. I'm trying to sleep here._

 _AHAHAHAHA! AHA! AHAHAHAHA!_

 _Goddammit! Get out! Stay out of my dreams!_

Her hazel eyes scanned the room for an intruder but found none. She pinched the bridge of her nose. It was really just a dream. A freaking nightmare she would say so herself. She had been having these delusions almost every night and that shaggy-haired goofball would always be in it. Different situations, always the same annoyingly reassuring laugh. She hugged herself just like any other night because of the tightness she feels in her chest. It ached just enough to leave a certain feeling of emptiness within her. A void that could possibly be filled if she has the courage to admit that maybe she might be harboring feelings for that sunglasses-wearing blockhead. She smiled bitterly to herself. This is going to be a long night.

The familiar chiming of the doorbell rang to reveal the usual bored looking Sakata Gintoki. "Yo. The rental bus will be here in 10 minutes so get your stuff ready, alright? Gotta hit the road on time." He added and started down the steps. "We'll be waiting for you downstairs."

Gintoki was surprisingly early for the trip. Sakamoto did not expect his buddy to take this favor too seriously. The guy even went as far as waking him up via phone call that morning aside from the planning the trip, taking care of hotel and travel reservations. Who knew Yorozuya would actually come in handy? The brunette must say his silver haired friend had done a good job in the preparations and felt a little proud. Odd Jobs might encounter disasters here and there whilst performing their assignment, but their recent works have proven otherwise.

He was beaming as he descended the steps, overnight bag in hand, and about to join the Yorozuya leader. Tatsuma was expecting to see the foreigner kid and glasses boy, the interns, as Gintoki calls them but lo and behold, more people! His jaw dropped at the unexpected number of people waiting for the bus. He face palmed. WE. BUS. He was in too good of a mood that morning and subsequently overlooked how they have rented a bus instead of a van. Sakamoto looked up and spotted a familiar back, and another one here, also there. He paled as he imagined his impending doom aka the total bill as cold sweat beaded at his forehead.

"Sakamoto-san!" a feminine voice squealed beside him which temporarily snapped him out of his misery. He felt himself freeze as soon as he realized some of the Snack Smile girls will be joining their escapade. "So generous of you to invite us! Too bad Oryo-chan can't come. She called in sick this morning."

"OYYY, EVERYBODY! BUS IS HERE! GRAB YOUR BAGS AND GET ON THE BUS NOW, 'KAY?" That was without a doubt that red-head foreigner intern on the loudspeaker. She stood by the bus parked on the street corner near the main road, waving her free hand for the people to get their attention (as if the loudspeaker was not enough). On the other hand, the glasses kid was guiding the others loitering at the other end of the street.

Tatsuma reached in his bag for his sunglasses but was startled by the view once he put it on. Mutsu was standing in front of him unmoving, bag in hand. He froze there not saying a word, eye to eye with his lady love. He cringed. There is no way he can call her that. Not when he was too afraid to even say a word to even anything at the moment. He forced himself to utter a single word but was cut off by the razor-tongued woman. "Oi, Sakamoto. Quit spacing out and let's go. The bus is already filling up."

"Y-yeah. Coming." He nervously blurted out, following her trail.

As she turned her back on him, Mutsu sighed, tightening her grip on the overnight bag. Acting all weird around her boss would not be of help now, would it? To add to that, her anxiety was getting worse. Having to spend the whole trip with him then throwing in a mix of personalities certainly does not help her case. Truthfully, she was starting to regret ever agreeing to this more and more by the minute. It was absolutely going to be a long ass weekend. She stopped in her tracks to take a breather. With eyes closed, she could feel her head begin to throb from the lack of sleep.

"I guess somebody did not sleep from excitement. AHAHAHAHA!" He flashed her a grin, whilst she composed herself from the sudden loud intrusion.

Blunt as always, Mutsu quickly retorted. "Look who's talking, hiding his dark circles behind dark spectacles. Looks like a middle schooler a night before their excursion." She delivered that line with a poker face, her expression unchanging despite her inner turmoil; it is hard not to smirk when Sakamoto looks flustered.

Looking towards the bus, she finds a rambunctious crowd trying to get on. Her brows furrowed. The journey might turn out to be comparable to that of a middle school class outing. May Kami have mercy on her sanity.

The bus ride was all the Kaientai second in command imagined it to be. People, namely the Yorozuya bunch, started singing karaoke and even standing on the aisle unfazed by the moving vehicle. Some were starting with their alcohol intakes early, popping beer cans one after the other. Among the throng of people were the Kiheitai members, who were actually the most behaved bunch with their leader taking a nap( _How in the world can he even take a nap in this chaos?_ ) while the subordinates played card games. Zura and Elizabeth were distracting themselves with a game of Uno and was already planning on even amusing themselves with a round of Jenga( _How the fuck would they even play here?_ ). On the other hand, the cabaret girls joined in on everyone's fun. They have scattered all over the place, blending in seamlessly and entertaining their chosen group.

That leaves her and Sakamoto sitting side by side at the back end of the bus, away from the brewing insanity at the front end of the vehicle. Mutsu cocked her head to the side, observing the brunette beside as he gaped at the current situation. She thinks he may have been expecting the hostess Oryo to come to the trip that was why he was uncharacteristically in low spirits. Tatsuma would probably have been nursing a beer can or even be singing his heart out on the karaoke, frolicking around with the cabaret girls within the confines of the bus. But no, here he sat beside her looking weirdly scandalized by their behavior.

Mutsu closed her hazel eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. The headache is only getting worse from racking her brain for an explanation of the odd behavior by the man beside her. Good thing the driver announced that they will be at the resort in approximately 15 minutes. Locking herself in the hotel room and sleeping the whole morning was what she was planning on. A little peace and quiet would not hurt. Besides, socializing is the least of her strong points so it would be better if she stayed in.

Whose idea was it even to head to the beach during winter? Sure. Planning a beach trip in the dead of winter meant having the resort to yourself. The downside, however, is having to take a dip in freezing temperatures. Cloudy skies are also to be expected so sunbathing may not be possible. Weirdly enough, most of the crazy bunch quickly changed into their beach attire, not even batting an eyelash as they splashed and played amidst the chilly breeze.

Despite the non-present sun and its rays, Mutsu still chose to hole herself up in the hotel room and take a much-deserved nap. Socializing was not her forte anyway, so she thought it best to steer clear from the other participants of the trip. Best to keep it to herself than ending up accidentally insulting anyone with her anti-social tendencies.

What the Kaientai Vice President found when she reached the reserved hotel room made her look twice and question her state of sleeplessness. There were two twin sized beds; nobody has mentioned to her that she will be rooming with somebody else. So much for avoiding the crowd. She hopes she would not be sharing a room with one of the cabaret girls, not that she had anything against their group. She was just trying to dodge the awkward small talk that was all. The hazel eyed woman looked around for her roommate's luggage but found none. Maybe there was a mistake in the room assigned to her but that was the least of her worries right now. She could really use a few hours of shut-eye to compensate for last night. Mutsu moved her things to one side and flopped to the nearest bed, promptly lulling herself to sleep.

That was how Sakamoto found her. Sprawled on the bed nearest the door, snoring softly as her chest rose up and down. " _She looks less threatening this way"_ , Sakamoto thought to himself while setting his bag on the other side of the room. He hates to admit it but she looks cute like that, sleeping without a care. Most definitely a complete opposite of how she was in her waking moments. He debated on watching over her while she was asleep; he would probably get punched if she caught him observing her. Besides, it would be downright creepy to do that. No use to dampen the mood for anyone in this weekend getaway.

Tatsuma quickly changed into a Hawaiian floral-printed shirt and shorts, heading down to the beach to join everyone on their fun. There are plenty of chances to make a move on her within the duration of the outing. He wished Yorozuya had thought of clever tricks to help him finally land the girl of his dreams. After all, he had faith in their abilities…? Nerves started creeping though upon realizing what he signed up for. The Odd Jobs was not known for being discrete.

He could only pray Mutsu would never notice they are up to something.


End file.
